Kid Free From The Streets
by Warrior of Camelot
Summary: The adventures of Mordred, Gwaine and their family continue. Third Story in this series so far. Go to my profile for the first two stories. Warning, thoughts/mention/actual doing of self harm and child abuse, if these are a trigger then don't read.
1. Chapter 1

AN: Wow guys, its been a while... I'm sorry about that but I've had some family drama... I'm adopted, and just recently my birthmother contacted me. It was a big thing and actually just happened Friday afternoon and i was on my way to a camp at the moment and spend the weekend at an airsoft camp. So thats what going on in my life, so updates may be a bit slow. But I will do my best, Promise.

"Are you ready for a whole day of telling me what to do?"

Merlin, now well from his tonsillitis, poked his head into Mordred's room, it was a week after Mordred's uncle had been arrested and Mordred was finally getting the day Gwaine had promised him.

"I am not but I don't have any choice do I?" Merlin said. "Since Gwaine promised."

"Nope," Mordred agreed, getting up. They had a breakfast of Mordred's choosing and then they headed to the shopping district where Merlin and Cuilén went to buy some candy while Gwaine and Mordred went to buy Mordred's new clothes.

Mordred looked to Gwaine. "They don't like shopping? And can I put it on after we buy it?"

"I suppose," Gwaine smiled. "Get what you want, Merlin can't complain too much."

"Yes!" Mordred ran around and choose different items of clothing, only trying on one or two before deciding. He ended up with a black t-shirt, black skinny jeans, a black sweatshirt, a beanie, a black belt and some jewelry: a spiky chain bracelet and a raven skull necklace.

"Merlin's going to have a heart attack," Gwaine chucked. "But go ahead. I'll tell Merlin to keep quiet just this once,"

Mordred whooped and ran to change, as he was changing Merlin and Cuilén arrived. "Is he changing?" Merlin asked Gwaine.

"Yes, and remember you can't complain," Gwaine warned.

Mordred popped out and looked at Gwaine, Cuilén, and Merlin. "Look at my outfit!" He crowed.

"What is that?!" Merlin cried before covering his mouth with his hand. "Not complaining, not complaining, not complaining... But honestly!"

"Sure you aren't." Mordred said and frowned slightly. "Don't you like it?"

"I like it," Cuilén smiled. "Except... Is that a skull? Mordred, that's horrible! Why would you pick that? The poor bird... That's so sad..."

"It's not real Cuilén." Mordred assured him. "It's a replica."

"Oh, okay," Cuilén smiled. Merlin rolled his eyes and looked away, saying only that the outfit would likely be warm in winter time.

"That's good, I like it." Mordred said. "Let's go look around some more! What should we do next?"

"It's your day kid," Gwaine said. "You choose."

"What is there to choose from?" Mordred asked, "I don't really know what is here, Cuilén?"

"I like the zoo, and the movies, and I like Hyde Park, oh, and there's a Ferris wheel! We could look and see if any tv shows are filming on a Main Street, or we could see a historical sight! There's lots to do," Cuilén smiled at Mordred.

"The Ferris wheel?" Mordred asked. "Can we go look?"

"Of course," Gwaine nodded, grinning at Merlin. "It's nice and high."

"I know," Merlin mumbled. "You tried to make me go on it before, I remember. It's very high."

"Do you not like heights?" Mordred asked Merlin.

"Not really," Merlin admitted. "But... It's your day, as I keep being reminded. I'll just wait, maybe there's food nearby."

Mordred smiled at Merlin. "Thank you, what do you like to do here?"

"I like most of the things Cuilén listed," Merlin told him. "And there's lots of fun restaurants. The zoo is pretty fun. And the British Museum has some pretty cool things. And the Natural History Museum has like dinosaurs and bugs and interactive stuff!"

"That sounds cool, we could go there after lunch?" Mordred said, smiling at Merlin.

"That'd be awesome!" Merlin's smile beamed. "Okay, thanks!"

Mordred smiled then gasped as he looked up at the Ferris wheel. "That's tall..." He said, then smiled. "Let's go!"

Gwaine and Cuilén trailed after, while Merlin held back.

"Are you sure?" Cuilén asked. "I can wait with you?"

"It's okay Cui," Merlin said. "Go have fun, okay?"

"Thanks Merlin!" Cuilén smiled brightly and then bounced away. He, Gwaine, and Mordred rode on the Ferris wheel for quite a while before they got off, Cuilén slightly afraid but exhilarated after the long, high ride.

"What'd you think?" Merlin asked the three.

"It was fun!" Mordred said. "Very high, but fun! I'm hungry! Is it lunch time?"

"If you want it to be," Gwaine smiled. "Where do you want to go to lunch? What kind of food do you like?"

"I dunno." Mordred said. "We are having pizza tonight so something else..."

"How about Thai?" Merlin suggested.

"Or Chinese?" Cuilén added.

"Or American?" Gwaine put in.

"Um..." Mordred shrugged. "Chinese? I haven't really had any of those but that sounds interesting."

"They're all good, but it's my favorite," Cuilén smiled. "We know a family with a really yummy place kinda near our deli! Come on!"

Mordred let Cuilén grab his hand and pull him down the street with Gwaine and Merlin close behind. Soon they arrived at a small Chinese restaurant, they were seated and handed menus.

"What do you usually get Cuilén?" Mordred asked.

"I get Kung Poe Chicken," Cuilén smiled. "But we do family style which is where we eat a little of everything we order. We get noodles and Merlin always gets Broccoli and Beef and Gwaine gets Chow Fun."

Mordred nodded. "What's Orange Chicken?" He asked.

"That's like chicken with orange flavored sauce," Merlin explained. "Anyone else want tea, by the way?"

"No thanks," Mordred said. "Can I get the orange chicken? And some rice?"

"Sure, but it's kinda unhealthy... Oh well, Cuilén don't eat too much of it if you have your usual meal," Merlin decided. "Oh, whatever, eat what you like, it's a special day anyway. It's really good though, you'll like it, Dre. Two teas, please, by the way." Merlin smiled at the waitress.

"I'll be right out with your orders as soon as possible." The waitress smiled at the family and quickly walked into the kitchen, soon returning with tea and water. "Here you go."

"Thanks Julie!" Merlin smiled. They talked happily until their food came and then they dug in. "What do you think, Mordred?"

"It's good! I like it." Mordred said as he ate.

"Good, I love this food! It's so yummy. Also, the Lings started coming to our deli! Isn't that awesome?"

"Yeah, that's cool!" Mordred smiled as then finished eating.

"You want to take it home?" Merlin asked, looking around. "The deli isn't too far we could drop the food off and then go to the museum if that's okay with you Mordred."

"That sounds good!" Mordred said and then was silent as Gwaine paid for the food and they were on their way out.

Merlin grabbed fortune cookies on the way out. "Here guys." He handed them out. "Read your fortunes!"

"What?" Mordred asked staring at the weirdly shaped cookie. "Why?"

"Cause it is fun!" Cuilén cried, "Mine says, You were born with a sixth sense and superb insight."

"That fits you," Merlin said. "Mine is, You will enjoy good health."

"And you are a doctor!" Cuilén laughed. "Gwaine open yours!"

"Alright." Gwaine cracked the cookie open. "Sometimes a stranger can bring great meaning into your life."

He smiled and pulled Mordred into a hug. "I think the fortune is a little late, that already happened."

Mordred blushed. "Da..." He complained.

"But it's true Mordred." Merlin said. "Now, open yours."

Mordred nodded and gently cracked the cookie open. "The past belongs to the past," he read slowly. "Now the time is right for a new beginning."

"You have your new beginning," Gwaine smiled warmly. "And I have my good future. Thank you for coming into our family, kid."

Mordred was surprised when Cuilén, who was next to him, gave him a huge hug, smiling up at his big brother happily.

"What this for?" He asked hugging the boy back.

"For being my older brother and being in our family," Cuilén replied as if the answer was obvious. "I just want to hug you, no real reason I guess. Can't I just hug for no reason?"

"Oh, okay. That's okay, I'm just not used to it yet." Mordred said.

"Cause your uncle was so mean," Cuilén nodded sadly. "I know... But that's why I have to hug you more than ever, so you see we're not like that and never will be."

"Okay," Mordred wasn't sure what to say exactly. "Thanks."

"Well," Merlin spoke up. "If we're done we can go to the museum now? You ready bud?"

Mordred looked at Merlin and smiled.

"Yup!" Mordred said and then started walking before turning around and asking. "Which way?"

Merlin lead the way into the museum, explaining to Mordred all about what they'd see, and soon they were touring the ancient museum halls.

"What do you think?" Merlin asked asked a wide smile. "Isn't it interesting?"

"I love it!" Mordred said. "It's very interesting. I wish I had something to draw with, I'll have to draw them later."

"You like art?" Merlin sounded surprised. "So does Cuilén! Maybe you can compare drawings?"

"Um..." Mordred hesitated. "I can show a few to him, some of them he wouldn't like..."

"Why's that?" Merlin asked suspiciously.

"Most of it is like what Tim Burton draws for concept art." Mordred said. "He would be scared."

"Oh, yeah..." Merlin admitted, shivering. "Don't show him that stuff, or me, okay? Show Gwaine, he might like it."

"Really?" Mordred asked, before nodding. "I won't show it to him, I'll show him my other drawings, I have some nice ones he might like animals and such."

"Yeah, he likes drawing animals in nature," Merlin nodded. "Are your animals happy?"

"I'll only show him the happy ones," Mordred said. "I have quite a few that are."

"Good," Merlin nodded. "It's not healthy to draw depressing all the time anyway. It can make your mind travel to a dark place... Kinda like the clothes you're wearing... Sorry, just saying."

"I get it." Mordred said, "But I like my outfits, I won't wear the jewellery all the time okay? Only every now and then. But the rest of it is just black and I like black."

"I see," Merlin sighed. "Don't you like color too? I like blue and red and purple and brown and grey and most colors actually... I mean, you had a brown sweatshirt when you showed up."

"Yeah, it's old though, Gwaine said I could wear my black one." Mordred said. "It has holes in it."

"Oh," Merlin nodded, his face sad. "Yeah, I get it... I... Sorry, yeah, you're outfit is okay, but I wouldn't wear it! Long as there's no piercings or anything..."

Mordred frowned. "Gwaine said I could get an earring." He said.

"He what? No no no, you are not, and that is final!"

"What about the tat he promised?" Mordred smiled as Merlin started to freak out. "I was going to get my whole arm done like a sleeve!"

"You? No, no that's a good promise Gwaine made but I am drawing the line and that is it, young man! No no no, that's not happening," Merlin shook his head.

Mordred started to laugh as Merlin protested. "The look on your face is hilarious!" He giggled.

"Why are you laughing?" Merlin asked slowly.

"Cause, Gwaine would never say that!" Mordred said sitting down cause he was laughing so hard.

"You mean, Gwaine didn't say he'd let you do that?" Merlin asked nervously.

Mordred nodded his head as he laughed, now unable to speak as he was laughing too hard.

"Well it's not that funny," Merlin sighed, though there was a small twinkle in his eye. "You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

Mordred just kept laughing as Gwaine and Cuilén walked over.

"What is going on?" Gwaine asked looking at Mordred on the ground. "You okay Dre?"

Mordred just shook his head as Merlin answered.

"He claimed he was going to get an earring and tattoos all up his arm like a sleeve!" Merlin complained. "And that you agreed with it!"

Gwaine looked down at Mordred who was finally beginning to stop laughing. "And if I had said yes?" He asked.

"Uh, I would have stopped him! There's no way!" Merlin wailed.

"Relax Merls, I wouldn't do that to you." Gwaine said, "Well, maybe the earring but not the tats, the earring we might be able to negotiate on."

"Nope, not till he's 18," Merlin shook his head. "Then _maybe_. Got it, Gwaine?"

"I'm kidding Merls." Gwaine said as he helped Mordred up. "You okay Dre?"

"I'm fine." Mordred said. "That was funny!"

"Not that funny," Merlin rolled his eyes. "Fine, maybe a little, but that's not my sense of humor."

"What's going on?" Cuilén suddenly walked up. "What's wrong with Mordred?"

"I told Merlin..." With that Mordred started to laugh again, leaning against Gwaine so he wouldn't fall over. "Th-that I was g-going to get a tat! And an earring!"

"That's not very funny," Cuilén shrugged. "Is he okay, Gwaine? Gwaine, are you laughing too? I don't get it..."

"They thought it would be funny to see me freak out," Merlin told Cuilén. "And I guess it was... A little."

"Oh, that seems kinda mean to me, but okay," Cuilén nodded slowly. "Come on, let's look at the dinosaurs!"

Merlin smiled and followed after his cousin, rolling his eyes whenever Gwaine or Mordred would begin chuckling again. After far too short a time, according to Merlin, they left the museum and the family headed out for pizza, to which everyone was quite excited about.

"Can we eat in the pizza place? Please?" Cuilén begged.

"Sure thing." Gwaine said before Merlin could say anything.

"I love pizza," Mordred smiled. "Especially the cheese and the sauce and... Well pretty much everything I guess."

"Yup," Gwaine agreed, and then handed Cuilén and Mordred each a few dollars. "Go play some games or something. I'll order your usual, that okay?"

"Okay," Cuilén smiled. "Wanna come Merlin?"

"Sure," Merlin shrugged. "Get me a small artichoke heart okay?"

"Come on!" Mordred said, walking toward the game section, "Let's see how many tickets we can get!"

Merlin smiled warmly and followed the boys, chuckling at their antics at a racing machine, Mordred excited to win and Cuilén patiently nodding and clearly trying to ignore Mordred's rough excited tone of voice.

"Yes!" Mordred cried moments later. "2nd place! I got thirty tickets Cuilén!"

"That's good," Cuilén smiled gently, his voice much softer than Mordred's. "I got quite a few too."

"What game next?" Mordred asked looking around.

"How about the one where you shoot balls in a hole?" Cuilén suggested timidly.

"Okay." Mordred said and they walked over to the game, passing a shooting game along the way. Mordred stopped for a second and watched the kids playing it.

"I don't really like that one, but... You can play if you want?" Cuilén swallowed, wincing when one boy shouted in triumph about something or other.

"Why don't you go play some other games?" Mordred said as he turned to Cuilén. "You don't have to stay here and watch..."

"Oh... Okay," Cuilén looked away, he trudged toward another game, his shoulders slumped. "Maybe Merlin can play with me?"

Mordred smiled as he took the plastic gun from the other boy and inserted his tokens. "I'll be done in a minute Cuilén!" He called. "Then I'll come play with you again."

Cuilén pretended to go play another game alone, but instead he watched Mordred out of the corner of his eye. He winced again, sniffling. When Mordred shot something and whooped, Cuilén stumbled backwards, turning away sadly.

"Merlin?" Cuilén turned to his older cousin. "I don't know if I feel like playing any more games, maybe I'll go sit with Gwaine."

"What's wrong?" Merlin asked, turning from where he was finishing up a game. "What is is Cui?"

"I just don't feel like playing anymore. It's not as fun this time..." Cuilén shrugged. "I'll see you later, okay?"

Merlin looked confused. "Where is Mordred?" He asked. "Why don't you go see what he is doing?"

"He's playing one of the mean games," Cuilén admitted. "He seems to like it though."

"Oh, well," Merlin looked over to where he could now see Mordred. "You know Gwaine plays those sometimes too, you've seen him playing video games. Why don't you ask Mordred not to play those when you are here? You have to tell him you don't like them."

"He knows, I think, he just said to play something else... It's okay, I just don't want to be here right now, okay? I'm just going to go, I don't want to ruin his good time."

Merlin nodded. "I'll come with you." He said, gently steering Cuilén toward their table.

"The pizza is here!" Cuilén declared, smiling. "Yay! I love vegetarian pizza. Hey Gwaine."

Gwaine smiled. "Hey, buddy. Where is Mordred, Cuilén?"

"He's playing a shooting game..." Cuilén trailed off. "He seemed to be having a good time."

"Ah," Gwaine said looking at Merlin. "I'll go get him and tell him the pizza is here."

Gwaine stood up and walked into the game area where he found Mordred finishing playing his game. "Pizza is here Dre."

"Okay, one sec. I've almost got this zombie!" Mordred declared, shooting wildly at the screen.

"Alright," Gwaine waited until Mordred finished. "Come on, you got your shooting game desire over with now?"

"Yeah, I guess," Mordred shrugged. "Where's Cuilén?"

"He went to sit down." Gwaine said, then looked at Mordred. "Let's not play those games when he is here okay? You upset him, we can play COD or Halo at home if you want to play those types of games."

"Oh, he gets that upset?" Mordred sounded surprised. "He really is... Gentle..."

"Yes he is." Gwaine said. "We can play at home, Merlin usually takes Cuilén out if we want to play, or we can play while he is at school and before we go to the deli. If you want to that is."

"Yeah, that'd be awesome!" Mordred grinned. "Now come on, I'm ready for my pepperoni pizza."

"Alright, just... Play something with Cuilén after okay?" Gwaine asked as they walked over.

"Yeah, of course," Mordred nodded, sitting down to his personal pizza. "Hey Cuilén, I didn't realise how much time had passed. After we eat we'll play the game you wanted, got it?"

"Okay." Cuilén said, moving so he was sitting next to Mordred. "Thanks, it will be fun, I promise!"

"I know it will," Mordred nodded. "Come on, let's dig in! How's the bbq one Gwaine?"

"It's good." Gwaine said, smiling. "You want a bite?"

"Sure, here's a bit of mine," Mordred hands his over. Merlin and Cuilén also shared until all the pizza had completely disappeared.

"That was so good!" Merlin declared. "I love artichoke!"

Mordred made a face. "Yuck." He said. "Cheese or pepperoni is the way to go."

"I like my bbq, don't you?" Gwaine raised an eyebrow.

"It was good." Mordred said. "I liked it, but artichoke? Eww."

"Oh well, it's good enough for me and Cuilén, isn't that right Cui?" Merlin grinned. Cuilén smiled and nodded before asking if they could play their game now.

"Course Cuilén." Mordred said and let Cuilén lead him to the game. "Let's play."

They played for a bit and Cuilén grinned proudly when he won.

"Whoa, good job kid!" Mordred declared. Cuilén blushed and muttered a quick thank you. "Come on, let's get back to Gwaine."

They arrived back in the pizza parlour to find Gwaine and Merlin smiling at them.

"Enjoy your day, Dre?" Gwaine asked.

Mordred nodded as he sat down. "Yup!" He said. "Now can we finish my room?"

"Absolutely. We've got a bed and furniture, you just need to put in the furnishings. Let's go."

They headed home, soon arriving back home. When they got home, Merlin and Cuilén disappeared to read. Gwaine got out the black bed clothes and helped Mordred put the bed together. "Okay, do you want to move anything around?"

"No," Mordred said. "The bed is already in the darkest corner of the room so I'm good."

"Okay," Gwaine nodded. "Don't want to move the light or Merlin's book shelf?"

Mordred shook his head. "I'm fine with it. It makes it more dark when the light is over there."

"Okay," Gwaine nodded. "It's getting late, you ready to sleep yet, kid?"

Mordred looked at Gwaine. "But I still am awake!" He said. "I'm not tired yet."

"I'll read to you," Gwaine told him. "How about Peter Pan?"

"What's that about?" Mordred asked.

"It's about a boy who didn't want to grow up," Gwaine explained. "He had many adventures with another family at his island, Neverland.

I'll read part of it."

Mordred nodded and pulled out a pencil and some paper as Gwaine sat down. "Okay, I'll listen." He said as he began to draw.

Gwaine read about the Darlings and how Wendy would tell tales of the mighty Peter Pan. Then the flying boy took the Darling children to the island where they battled the evil Captain Hook. In the middle of a battle, Gwaine noticed that Mordred's eyes were drooping, despite his excitement for the story.

"We'll finish tomorrow," Gwaine told him. "Can I see what you drew?"

Mordred nodded and sleepily handed Gwaine the paper. On it was the beginnings of a bedroom and four people, one of which was flying in the air. A small fairy was next to the flying boy.

"That's beautiful," Gwaine breathed. "You've got a great talent, Dre, really. Now, get some sleep."

Gwaine leaned forward then kissed Mordred on his forehead, pulling the covers up to the boy's chin.

"Goodnight kid," Gwaine smiled, ruffling his hair.

"Night Da." Mordred said, as his eyes drifted shut and Gwaine walked into the living room.

"Cuilén asleep?" He asked Merlin.

"Yeah," Merlin nodded sleepily. "He was really tired. I'm going to stay up and make sure he doesn't have a nightmare. He was a little shaken, worried that Mordred was turning mean or something... He'll be okay."

"Yeah, I talked to Mordred about it and he won't do those sorts of games while Cuilén is around.I'll have him play with me when Cuilén isn't here."

"Sounds good," Merlin nodded, snuggling further into his blanket. "You should go to sleep, okay Gwaine?"

"Yeah, I will soon." Gwaine said walking to the fridge and pulling out a soda before walking back and sitting down next to Merlin. "You look about to fall asleep there."

"I'm okay," Merlin yawned. "Can I have a soda too? Maybe we can watch a movie?"

"What do you want?" Gwaine asked. "And what movie?"

"Whatever is in the fridge. How about the third Star Wars? Cuilén doesn't like it, but I'm in the mood," Merlin told his cousin. They popped in the DVD and then got halfway through the movie before they got to an especially big battle and there was a tiny cry from the hallway.

AN: oh no! what happened? tune in next time to find out.


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Its been so long! sorry Guys with my computer finally done updating and everything i can get back to posting every other day or so! hope you enjoy this

Merlin spun around to see Cuilén standing there and he stood up. "Cuilén? Gwaine, pause it. What's wrong Cui? Bad dream?"

"Yeah and... And the TV... Merlin, that's the battle movie! That's the Star Wars I don't like!" Cuilén sniffled, his eyes betrayed.

"It's okay Cuilén." Gwaine said as he walked over. "It's okay, it's a movie, okay? Nothing is going to happen. What was your dream about?"

"I had a dream that... That Mordred was mean and... And he did mean things and... He had a gun and went out and shot a deer like in the game! And then... There were scary people, zombies! It... It was really bad," Cuilén sniffled, looking away. "But... But you're watching a scary movie too... Sorry I bothered you..."

"It's okay Cuilén." Merlin said. "I'm sorry the movie scared you, and don't worry, Mordred won't actually shoot anything. I promise."

"I know, but it was still a bad dream," Cuilén sniffled. "Can I hug you?"

"Of course." Merlin reached out and held his cousin close. "Come sit on the couch with us for a few minutes."

Cuilén snuggled into Merlin's arms on the couch, closing his eyes and settling down happily. Gwaine shared a smile with Merlin and ruffled Cuilén's hair as he sat down.

"You are so adorable buddy," Gwaine said softly. "I love you."

Cuilén cast a little glare at Gwaine before snuggling again.

"No I'm not, I'm just sleepy," Cuilén replied softly. "I'm going to sleep, okay?"

"Yes you are, you are adorable and cute." Gwaine said. "Goodnight."

Cuilén sighed before his breathing evened out and he fell asleep. Merlin chuckled.

"Guess we'd better not watch the movie anymore? I'll sleep out here with him."

"Okay." Gwaine said. "Do you want anything?"

"No, I'm good," Merlin shrugged. "Goodnight Gwaine."

"Goodnight." Gwaine said and he walked toward his bedroom, stopping first to check on Mordred. When he opened the door he was greeted by the sight of Mordred sitting up in bed and drawing. "Time to go to sleep Dre, you okay?"

"Yeah I will, night da," Mordred said absentmindedly. When Gwaine didn't leave, Mordred rolled his eyes and placed the drawing aside. "I am! Goodnight da, love ya."

Gwaine smiled and walked over to sit down on the bed. "Do you usually stay up late?" He asked softly.

"Yeah, I mean I usually hurt too much at night to sleep..." Mordred admitted sleepily before realising his mistake and speaking quickly. "I mean before, not now, obviously. Now I'm just kind of a night owl."

"It's okay Dre," Gwaine said. "I'm a night owl too. I understand the need to stay up late, you can stay up for a little bit, I'll be in in half an hour to turn off the light."

"Thanks da!" Mordred declared, continuing to draw. A half hour later, Gwaine entered and Mordred turned the paper around to show his art. It was a drawing of four figures eating pizza. "It's us!"

"Shh, that's very good Dre." Gwaine said. "But now it's time to go to sleep."

"Oh, right," Mordred put the drawing aside and laid down. "Goodnight, da. Thanks for the amazing day."

"You're welcome Dre." Gwaine said. "Goodnight."

Mordred yawned and finally found peace when the light turned out. He closed his eyes and began to fall asleep, reflecting back on the great family he had stumbled into. As Gwaine hurried out the door, Mordred whispered a final goodnight before falling asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

AN: HEY GUYS! IM BACK WITH MORE TO THIS STORY!

The next morning Gwaine and Merlin were the first two up. Cuilén was still asleep on the couch, and Mordred was sleeping in his room.

"G'morning." Gwaine said as he walked in, yawning as he did so.

"Hey, you tired still?" Merlin asked, looking over.

"Yeah, a little I stayed up to read some of Mordred's file." Gwaine said. "I think we should get him a check up before Christmas."

"Why is that?" Merlin asked, looking quizzically at Gwaine.

"Well, I think he either needs glasses or has dyslexia." Gwaine said. "I was talking to him after Arthur arrested his uncle and he said he used to have to read for him and for every five words in four paragraphs he would get a lash from a whip."

Merlin winced but nodded. "Okay."

"And he would usually get twenty lashes from that." Gwaine said. "That's a hundred words Merlin! In four paragraphs!"

"That is a high amount." Merlin said, frowning. "Have you had him try to read?"

"Not yet but I looked over his school records and even though he graduated it was only because he was taken out of high school when he was 16. Note from his teachers suggest that he was 'too lazy to read aloud and caused a fuss when asked to do so. Didn't read properly and no amount of convincing would help.'" Gwaine looked at Merlin. "That was a few years ago up until a year ago, he had been always beaten or at least punished for words wrongly said, why would he purposely butcher them?"

"He wouldn't." Merlin realised. "I will call the doctor that looks at Cuilén. Dr Malarkey, he can tell us what is going on with Mordred. He might be able to come today, Cuilén needs a check up too so that would work."

"Alright, I'm going to go wake Mordred up." Gwaine said. "You give him a call."

He walked into Mordred's room and gently roused the boy. "Time to get up and eat." He said as Mordred yawned and stretched.

"Hey da," Mordred yawned again. "What time is it? Seems so early!"

"It's the same time we always get up." Gwaine said. "Come on, time to get ready for the day, we have today off since the deli isn't open on Sunday's."

"Yes!" Mordred declared. "So, what're we doing today? Can we watch a movie?"

"Maybe, depends on what time the doctor is coming to give you and Cuilén checkups." Gwaine said, turning to walk out of the room.

"Checkup?" Mordred cried. "Wait, I'm not going for a doctor check up! Hold up, Da!"

"Did I say you were going anywhere?" Gwaine asked, turning around to look at Mordred. "He is coming here."

"Who is he anyway?" Mordred sulked. "I never liked doctors. They show up with needles and medicine... I don't like it."

"A doctor who has been checking up on on Cuilén since he came to live with me." Gwaine said. "And it will be fine, me and Merlin will be there, Merlin always helps him."

"Why is he coming here?" Mordred asked.

"Cause Cuilén doesn't like Doctor's offices, don't quite know why but from the looks of it you don't either kid." Gwaine smiled gently. "Cuilén was always more comfortable here so we found a doctor who would come here to check up on Cuilén."

Gwaine motioned for Mordred to get up. "Let's go get breakfast, I'm sure he will be here soon."

Gwaine walked back out into the kitchen and Merlin was just hanging up his phone. "When is he coming?"

"Half an hour, is Mordred up?" Merlin asked.

"Yes, he will come eat breakfast and then get ready." Gwaine said as Mordred stumbled into the kitchen. "You have half an hour Dre, eat and then go get dressed and brush your teeth."

"I don't like doctors," Mordred muttered again.

He spotted his sort-of-sibling eating breakfast and he sat beside him. "Hey Cui, you don't mind this doc?"

"No, he's really nice," Cuilén smiled. "He will be really polite, don't worry."

"I had enough shots as a kid to know that docs are never nice."

"This one is, and Merlin will help. You trust Merlin, don't you?" Cuilén smiled at Mordred.

"Yeah I do." Mordred muttered. "I still don't like doctors."

"Merlin going to be a doctor," Cuilén pointed out. "He can do part of your examination if you like."

Mordred nodded seeming a bit more happy with that arrangement.

Mordred soon finished up his breakfast and was just finished with getting dressed when there was a knock on the door and a kind looking, white haired man entered. Cuilén hurried up to him, a smile on his face.

"Hello Doctor Malarkey! How've you been?"

"Hello Cuilén," the man smiled warmly, patting him on the shoulder. "How're you today?"

"I'm good!" Cuilén smiled. "Just need a checkup."

"I've heard I have a new patient?" Doctor Malarkey asked, turning to Mordred. "Would that be you, young man?"

Mordred nodded. "Yes." He said as he glared at Gwaine.

"This is Mordred," Gwaine nodded. "He needs a general check up and an eye exam. He hasn't been examined in many years, as he was in a place that didn't offer that."

"Well, why don't I go through Cuilén and then I'll move onto Mordred? Hop up on the counter, Cui."

Cuilén did as he was told and Dr Malarkey quickly checked him over. "You are good to go Cuilén." He said afterwards. Then turned to look for Mordred.

"Where did my other patient go?" He asked Merlin.

"He went to his room and Gwaine is coaxing him out." Merlin said.

"So is there anything in particular you want me to look for?" Malarkey asked as they waited.

"Yeah, according to Mordred's school records and the police report on his case I told you about." Merlin said. "He has trouble reading, now I'm not sure if it is from his eyesight or some form of dyslexia... If it is dyslexia I would say it would probably be reduced phonemic awareness, most of it at least."

"You may be right m'boy." Malarkey said, "You do have a knack for knowing such things."

"Here's your patient!" Gwaine suddenly appeared, half dragging an unhappy Mordred behind him.

"Good, sit up here, Mordred." Malarkey said gently, patting the counter. "Let's get started."

"Yeah, whatever," Mordred rolled his eyes. He watched the doctor warily as the doctor checked his ears and had him stick out his tongue. He then last checked Mordred's reflexes, which were adequate, and then he moved onto his breathing.

"Hm..." The doctor said quietly. "I see... I'll come back to that. Now, let's check his eyes Merlin."

Merlin held a small light and had Mordred follow it before holding an eye chart up for the doctor to point at, frowning when the doctor shook his head.

"Alright." Dr. Malarkey nodded, "Mordred you can go now."

Mordred nodded and jumped down off the counter and swiftly disappeared into his room.

"Well?" Gwaine asked. "First tell me about his eyes, then his breathing."

"Well, he was a bit slow to follow the light and he would sometimes look the opposite way then the light would go." The Doctor said. "That could very well be dyslexia, I have a few more tests I would want to do. His breathing is a bit laboured, most likely asthma. It isn't very bad but I would suggest you get him an inhaler just in case."

"Cuilén has a little asthma," Merlin pointed out. "We'll know what to do. And should we perform the tests now? It'll probably be easier to get him to cooperate a little more if he's done this much."

"That would be preferable." Malarkey said. "I have the tests with me since I decided to bring them when you mentioned it over the phone."

"Good," Merlin smiled. "Gwaine, perhaps Cuilén should fetch him? He can't say no to Cui."

"Cuilén!" Gwaine called. "Go get Mordred please."

"Okay," Cuilén smiled. He knocked on Mordred's door and stepped inside to find the older boy glaring at the wall. Cuilén stepped over and smiled warmly at him. "Hey Dre, one more test or maybe two, I don't know. Come on, let's go!"

"No..." Mordred said. "I don't want to."

"Please Dre?" Cuilén begged. "Just for me? Then I'll read to you or make you an ice cream Sundae or something. It'd be really nice if you please came out?"

Mordred shook his head. "Please Cui." He begged. "I don't want to do this."

"I promise it won't be scary, and I'll stay with you the whole time," Cuilén gave Mordred a gentle hug and pulled him to his feet.

"You won't be able to..." Mordred said as he allowed Cuilén to pull him to the door. "Tests are usually done alone so you can't tell me what to say or do."

"Even if they tell me to leave, I'll stay anyway if you want me to," Cuilén promised, his face slightly hurt when he heard Mordred's sharp tone of voice. "Please Dre? Please, for your little brother? Well even if he he tells me to go away, I'll stay because you're my big brother and I'm going to stay with you no matter what," Cuilén pouted, clearly unhappy about Mordred's angry tone of voice. "Come on, for your little brother?"

"Fine, I'll come out." Mordred said, still grumbling.

"Thank you!" Cuilén hugged him happily before taking his hand and leading him out. "Come on, Dre!"

Mordred grumbled as he sat where the doctor pointed.

"What do I do?" Mordred glared uneasily at the doctor. His gaze shifted when Merlin stepped forward and handed him something.

"What is this?" He asked before realising it was a book.

"I'm not reading..." Mordred said looking around and realising what they were asking him to do. "No, absolutely not."

"Please Dre?" Cuilén begged. "For me?"

"No." Mordred said, knowing he would fail at this and not wanting to in front of Cuilén. "Da? Please no." He asked turning to his dad.

"Dre, do as your told," Gwaine's voice was nowhere near as gentle as Cuilén's. "Come on, son."

Mordred shook his head, he would not do this in front of Cuilén and Merlin. "No, I won't." He said. "This is stupid."

"Young man, would it help if your family left?" The doctor suggested, something occurring to him. "Maybe if we did this more privately?"

Mordred looked at the doctor, wondering how the man had guessed but he still shook his head, reaching out toward Gwaine. He did not verbally protest though, which was different.

"Would you like it if only your dad stayed?" The doctor suggested. "Just us and your dad? Is that okay?"

Mordred finally nodded, liking that solution.

"Okay, Merlin and Cuilén can you please exit to another part of the house? Good, now let's get started. How about you try reading me that first page?"

Mordred looked down at the book. "Why?" He asked the doctor instead of reading aloud, trying to figure out all the words.

"I'd just like to see how it works. I'd like to see how your eyes are, since you weren't sure about everything on the eye test. Don't worry, this is a pretty standard test. Go ahead, young man. And don't worry if it's hard, that's what I'm here to help."

"I..." Mordred looked at the page again with a worried look on his face. He couldn't make out some of the bigger words, he could see the letters but, like always, he tried to read them and he knew he wasn't getting it right. The words didn't sound right in his head and trying to say them correctly was harder. He glanced at Gwaine then back at the book. "What book is this?" He asked.

"This is Peter Pan, I've heard you like that one, but haven't read this chapter yet. Let's hear what happens next."

"Fe... Felling..." Mordred frowned at the word. "Felling that P... Peter was on his way bake..." He grimaced, he knew the right word he just couldn't say it. "The Naverlend had agin woke i'to life."

"Good," the doctor nodded. "Now I'm going to speak with your father quietly, you may stay there, Mordred."

AN: POOR MORDRED! CAN ANYONE GUESS WHAT WRONG WITH HIM?


	4. Chapter 4

Guys... Please give me some help on something please... on inkitt . com they are having a fanfiction contest... I have entered a story called Kid Rescued From The Streets by WarriorofCAmelot into the Fanfiction2 contest. Please, Please, Please go vote if you have enjoyed these threes stories of this series... It finishes this story early... Please vote for me, it would mean so much. And with that note enjoy this chapter.

"Well, what's wrong with him?" Gwaine asked. "Does he have dyslexia? He mispronounced most all those words."

"Yes, from that test I am concluding that he does have dyslexia." Dr Malarkey said quietly. "In his case it is called Phonological awareness... Specifically for Mordred, I think Merlin was right in saying reduced phonemic awareness. That is difficulty in segmenting words into individual sounds or blending sounds together, slurring. Mordred most likely is having trouble with reading and saying the words, he knows what they are supposed to sound like as he speaks with ease but saying them when he is reading is another matter."

"I see," Gwaine nodded. "So is there any way to help this? More practice? A different form of books?"

"Practice will be good for him, he seems to get easily upset about this so I would suggest you help him the most. I think this level of reading is fine for him, if he gets too frustrated you should pull out a different book of perhaps a lower reading level." Malarkey suggested. "Also having him read with you as you read and make sure to correct him when he makes a mistake but first ask him to tell you the word without reading it. He should be able to repeat words just fine."

"Okay, thanks," Gwaine nodded. "Do you want to tell him? Or should I?"

"I will be there but I think he will take it better from you." Dr Malarkey said, motioning for Gwaine to go over to Mordred.

"Hey kid," Gwaine smiled at him. "Come sit at the table. I'm going to tell you something. You know how sometimes you have a bit of trouble reading? Don't worry, there's a real reason. You're not bad at it, kid, you have a real reason. It's a condition called dyslexia. It makes it harder to read. It's not you, it's this condition!"

Mordred nodded slowly. "Okay, am I done reading now? Please don't make me read more, I hate it! I can't get the words right!"

"Why's he hate it so much?" The doctor asked quietly to Gwaine. "If you don't mind me knowing."

"I don't know, hey Dre, why do you hate it? What do you mean you can't get the words right?" Gwaine asked.

"I can't read them, they aren't right!" Mordred said sadly. "They don't sound right, but I try to say them and they are wrong!" He started to cry. "I can't do anything right."

"Hey, kid, it's not your fault," Gwaine placed a hand on Mordred's arm. "Lots of people have dyslexia. It can be helped with gentle practice. We can work together, and when you get something a little off, I'll help you pronounce it. We'll do it together!"

Mordred looked at Gwaine. "Do we have to tell Cuilén, Da?" He asked, tears still in his eyes as he leaned toward his father.

"Of course not, not if you don't want to," Gwaine shook his eyes. "You want to keep it a secret? How come?"

"I'm his big brother!" Mordred said, "I... I just don't want to."

"That's fine," Gwaine squeezed his son forearm. "We don't need to tell Merlin a lot either. Maybe just that you have it, but we won't practice in front of him, okay?"

"Okay." Mordred suddenly leaned in and hugged Gwaine. "Thank you."

"Of course kid," Gwaine smiled hugging Mordred tightly. "Nothing you don't want. We can do it before bed each night, okay? Before your drawing."

"Okay." Mordred smiled. "Now can we watch a movie? Please?"

"Sure," Gwaine smiled. "Thank you, doc. Here's the money, and we'll probably see you in about a year, given nothing goes wrong. Merlin might see you before then if he volunteers for you again."

"Whenever you need me," the doctor smiled. "And Merlin knows where to contact me. I can always do with a bit of helping. Goodbye Mordred, I look forward to seeing you again."

"Bye." Mordred said as he continued to hold onto Gwaine. "Thank you."

"Your welcome, young man," the man nodded before exiting. Gwaine gave Mordred a warm hug before putting the book away and getting Merlin and Cuilén. "We're going to watch a movie! Or TV. What do you want to watch, Dre?"

"Can we watch the Hobbit?" Cuilén asked quietly. "Please Mordred?"

"Okay, what's that?" Mordred asked.

"You don't know?" Merlin's jaw dropped. "It's so cool! We've gotta see the Hobbit. It comes before Lord of the Rings. We'll watch the all movies now. I'll make us food. We have nothing else to do today."

Gwaine smiled when Mordred nodded and turned on the movie. After a bit, there was a poke in his side as the orcs came on.

"Da?" Mordred whispered. "What are those words? There on the bottom."

Gwaine quickly read the words on the bottom of the screen and Mordred smiled in thanks as Gwaine continued to read the orcs words for him and then the elves words when that part came.

Too soon the movies came to an end and Gwaine told the boys to get to bed.

"Can I draw a bit?" Mordred asked Gwaine.

"Sure, I'll be in in a few minutes though," Gwaine said. "I'm just going to tuck Cuilén in and talk to Merlin."

Cuilén snuggled into his bed, Gwaine kissing him goodnight on the forehead, and then he pulled Merlin to the side.

"Was I right?" Merlin asked softly.

"Yes you were." Gwaine said. "He can't really read anything."

"Are you going to practice?" Merlin asked. "I suspect he doesn't want Cuilén to know. He is taking this big brother thing pretty seriously."

"Yeah, I'll practice with him every night." Gwaine said. "And yeah, he is. He doesn't want to mess anything else up."

"It wouldn't mess anything up," Merlin rolled his eyes. "But that's fine. I'm turning in, okay? Don't get to sleep too late. You have the deli tomorrow, remember."

"I know, I'll just stay with him for a bit." Gwaine said. "I want to be with him right now, he was kinda upset earlier when we were talking with Dr Malarkey."

"Yeah, makes sense. Night Gwaine."

Merlin disappeared into his room while Gwaine headed into Mordred's. Mordred smiled and showed Gwaine an in depth picture of Peter Pan. The boy had a cap with a feather, pointy ears, and a sideways grin that definitely made the boy in the drawing look like he was up to something.

"Whatcha think?" Mordred asked.

"He looks good." Gwaine said. "You ready to read for a few minutes?"

"Yeah that's fine," Mordred nodded, placing the drawing aside. "Cuilén is in bed?"

"Yes he is," Gwaine agreed, handing Mordred the book. "He won't hear, I promise. Go ahead kid."

"Where should I start?" Mordred asked, looking down worriedly at the page.

"How about where it says 'in his absence?" Gwaine suggested. "In chapter 5."

"Okay." Mordred said, then looked up at Gwaine. "I'm not very good at it though."

"That's okay Dre." Gwaine said softly. "I'll help you."

"In his absece thigs..." Mordred started slowly before Gwaine gently stopped him.

"Absence, okay Dre? And the second one is things. Can you say those?"

"I know them." Mordred said. "I just can't say them when I read them!"

"Let's just take this nice and slow," Gwaine smiled, squeezing Mordred's shoulder. "Keep going."

"From where I stopped?" Mordred asked.

"Okay," Gwaine nodded.

"Thins... Things are usully quite on the izlad..." Mordred stopped at that word. "That's not right... Izlad... Izlan..."

"Island," Gwaine smiled. "Got it?"

"Yeah, what else was wrong?"

"Just repeat the line," Gwaine told him.

"Things are usully quiet on the iz... No not izlad... Island."

"Okay, good job! Only one tiny thing. It's usually, okay? But that was really good!"

Mordred smiled. "The... Fearys... Take an our loner in the mouring."

"Okay," Gwaine breathed slowly, smiling and starting at the beginning. "So that is fearies, okay? And hour has more of an h sound. Loner, that should be longer, okay? And morning is the last word. You were really close, just missing that n in the middle."

Mordred frowned but began to speak again. "The fairies take an hour lone...longer in the morning..."

"Good!" Gwaine hugged his son. "You're really getting the hang of this!"

Mordred might have been getting the hang of it, but it took him almost an hour to read the final sentence of the first paragraph. Mordred looked about ready to give up, while Gwaine looked completely exhausted.

Mordred suddenly threw the book to the other side of the room and turned away from Gwaine. "I can't do this." He sobbed.

"Yeah, you were getting it!" Gwaine gathered the boy in his arms. "That was good, and it was only the first try!"

Mordred just continued to sob into Gwaine's arms as he let out the stress he had built up over the day. "Are we done now?" He asked pulling away slightly but still clinging on to Gwaine.

"If you want to be," Gwaine nodded. "It is late, we should sleep, but don't feel let down. You did great, kid. I'm proud of you."

Mordred nodded. "Thanks Da." He said. "Can you stay until I fall asleep? Or read a little bit to me?"

"I'll sit right here," Gwaine promised, moving to sit on the bed beside Mordred. He held his son and ran a hand through his curly hair. "It's okay Dre. I'm proud, and one day I know you'll be reading as well as Merlin. We all have things we struggle at, Dre. I struggled at most school, I hated science and didn't much like English. See I was weird, only thing that got me through was maths. I was good at math, and I could beat all the other kids on test."

"I didn't like school, they would try to make me read." Mordred said. "And I couldn't do it!" He started to cry softly. "They didn't like it when I didn't read properly."

"Yeah, I always messed around in science. Once I mixed the wrong chemicals and turned the tips of the teacher's hair black! It was bad, and looking back I kind of cringe. I hated school, I didn't try, and then I ended up working in the bad and having to lie to my own family about my work place! That really got on my conscious. I don't want to lecture you, kid, but I started reading some business books, and then I got the deli! I just kept trying, and I figured it out. You can too, Dre. If you keep trying, you'll figure out reading. I don't know if you'll keep working the deli or if you'll shoot for the stars like Merlin. Either way, if you just keep trying, I know you'll succeed, because you do have it in you."

Mordred nodded as he started to fall asleep on Gwaine. "Okay, thanks da, I love you."

"I love you so much," Gwaine hugged his son. "Goodnight kid."

Gwaine flipped off the light and then continued to sit beside Mordred. Soon they were both asleep, leaning against each other, father and son, smiles on both of their faces.


End file.
